Where did the four heavy cruisers come from!?

As the cannonballs came in waves, Takano kept thinking about it.

The Sayi Navy has always regarded heavy cruisers as second-class capital ships, and once considered using them for fleet decisive battles, but in the Liangxia Navy, the status of heavy cruisers was very embarrassing, not only was the number not large, but even the use was biased, and it was not taken seriously from beginning to end.

Before the outbreak of the war, heavy cruisers were often used as gunboats by the Liangxia navy.

To put it simply, where there are interests that need to be maintained, a fleet headed by heavy cruisers should be sent, after all, for the vast majority of weak and small countries, the deterrent power of heavy cruisers is not under the battleships, and it is easier to dispatch and cheaper to use.

Only now, where did those four heavy cruisers come from?

Third Air Task Force?

This is the only explanation that makes sense.

Able to get to the east of the Shuangche Strait in time, there were only the warships of the 3rd Air Task Force.

Because the two fast battleships were not yet in the ranks, the 3rd Air Task Force had four heavy cruisers dedicated to providing defense and control cover for the aircraft carriers.

Is that the four heavy cruisers?

According to the information obtained earlier, four "Wuzhou" class ships were assigned to the Third Air Task Force, and this was the last type of treaty-type heavy cruiser of the Liangxia Navy. Because the first post-treaty heavy cruiser has not yet been delivered, the four "Wuzhou" class are considered the most cutting-edge.

In addition, all four heavy cruisers returned to the shipyard before the war for reconstruction, enhancing their air defense capabilities.

So, why did the four heavy cruisers of the Third Air Task Force appear here, and they also fired first, putting on a posture of fighting to the death with the first main team.

That's just four heavy cruisers!

When the distance is shortened, the "Gate" can take out one in a single salvo.

Also, without the cover provided by four heavy cruisers, what air defense does the 3rd Air Task Force rely on?

Fast battleships?

That's right, fast battleships.

The Third Air Task Force must have turned north last night, and if not with the two fast battleships, it was following behind. Because there was cover from fast battleships, it didn't matter if there were heavy cruisers or not. The point is that it is possible to return to Asahi before dawn, and when sailing at night, it is obvious that there is no need to worry about air defense, and there is no need for heavy cruisers to provide air defense cover.

As for anti-submarine, that's a matter of destroyers, not heavy cruisers.

It all makes sense.

In addition, the purpose of sending heavy cruisers over is to monitor the Shuangche Strait, that is, to monitor the first main force, because after the Third Air Task Force goes north, the Liangxia Navy has no way to monitor the Shuangche Strait before dawn tomorrow, and the first main force will definitely be able to pass through the Shuangche Strait before dawn. Send a few heavy cruisers over, at least you can figure out when the first main force will pass through the Shuangche Strait.

From the perspective of the Liang Xia Navy, it is definitely necessary to grasp the whereabouts of the first main team.

The key is the time when the first main team enters the Guia Ocean from the Shuangche Strait.

With this information, adjustments can be made to combat deployments, such as determining the timing of the march into the Overwatch Strait and the capture of the Sadou Islands.

Besides, in the first main battle team, except for the two "Damin" class battleships, none of the other battleships had the ability to suppress the "Wuzhou" class heavy cruisers, and the speed of the "Damin" class was far inferior to that of the "Wuzhou" class. If you fight at night, the first main team has no advantage.

Wait until dawn?

After dawn, the destroyers could attack under the cover of the battleships and force back four heavy cruisers with torpedoes, but now there are still a few hours before dawn!

What's more, at dawn, I'm afraid that the reconnaissance plane of the Liang Xia Navy has already arrived.

"Boom-"

The explosion occurred suddenly.

Although it hit the main gun turret in front and exploded outside the turret, the sudden fireball that enveloped the bridge stunned the officers and men in the bridge.

It happened so suddenly that no one was prepared.

At the moment of the explosion, there were already people on the bridge on their backs.

A two-hundred-millimeter shell could not penetrate the armor of the main gun turret, but the huge kinetic energy and the impact force generated by the detonation of thousands of grams of explosives made even a battleship of tens of thousands of tons tremble.

By the time Tanami reacted, Takano's head had hit the porthole and he was falling backwards.

"Commander ......"

"I'm fine!"

Seeing Gao Ye climb up on his own, Tian Shicai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Later, Kuroshima didn't ask much, and after getting up, he immediately grabbed the telephone microphone and gave the captain in the navigation bridge above the order to fight back.

To be precise, let the main guns fire back.

After sailing at full speed for nearly ten minutes, the distance is shortened to less than 15 kilometers, and even if it is still far away, you can't keep being beaten without fighting back.

At this time, "Wuzhou".

As soon as the battle began, the guards picked up binoculars.

In fact, before the enemy's secondary guns fired back, it was pitch black in the telescope, and it was impossible to see clearly, let alone judge whether to hit the enemy ship.

As for the effect of the shelling, the guards were simply embarrassed to say.

Ten rounds of salvos in a row, not only did none of them hit, but they didn't even form a straddle shot. The distance is one thing, but it is also related to radar.

That's an air search radar!

Although it has a range-measuring function, its accuracy is very poor, and it cannot be used to direct artillery fire.

In the first few rounds of shelling, the distance measured by the radar was 23 kilometers. It was not until the eighth round, after the enemy ships opened fire, that the radar ranging results were corrected by the distance calculated by the lookout, and then the parameters were reset by the ordnance chief.

In the light of the situation at that time, it was probably due to the interference of the No. 2 enemy ship, that is, the "Luo", that the radar ranging results showed such a huge deviation.

It was in this way that the enemy ship was hit in the eleventh salvo.

Unfortunately, that shot did not pose a threat to the "Gate" at all.

The point is, the distance of engagement has been decreasing.

According to the telegraph, the cruiser formation was to attract the attention of the first main battle group, and after being fired back, especially after an exchange of fire with the battleships of the Sasashi Navy, the formation commander could make a decision at his discretion, and there was no need to obey the commander's orders, and the formation commander had the final say on whether to fight or not.

However, the "Gate" did not fire back!

At least they didn't return fire with the main guns.

Because he was fired at by the battleship's secondary guns, and before he was hit, he turned to retreat?

Obviously, that doesn't make sense.

The protection of heavy cruisers is no longer good, and key parts can also block 140-mm armor-piercing shells.

If you run away because a few of the battleship's secondary shells landed nearby, how can you have the face to go back and make a difference?

Just find a piece of tofu and hit it to death!

"Captain!"

When the officer next to him reminded loudly, the "Wuzhou" had already begun to slow down and steer with a full left rudder, which was a standard tactical evasion maneuver.

In addition, the guards saw the muzzle flashes of the enemy ships.

It is extremely bright, and it appears in a position slightly higher than the muzzle flash of the previous secondary gun, concentrated in one place, which is obviously the muzzle flash of the main gun when it fires.

It was precisely in this way that the helmsman did not consult the captain and turned directly to tactical evasion.

The main guns of the "Gate" opened fire, and the guards were not only not nervous, but also relieved.

Retreat now, then it is not a deserted escape.